The B.C. NDP raised $1.26 million from individual donations in the first six months of 2018, nearly double the take of the B.C. Liberals in the same period.
The B.C. Liberal Party total was $748,000, and the B.C. Green Party took in $271,000, according to interim finance reports released Wednesday by Elections B.C.
The individual donations are on top of the public subsidy that began to be paid this year, starting at a rate of $2.50 per vote earned by each party in 2017. That subsidy pays out about $27 million from taxpayers to the three eligible parties over five years, splitting about $2.4 million that was paid out at the beginning of 2018.
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The new legislation eliminated corporate and union donations, which had given the B.C. Liberals a big edge in fundraising in previous years, and caps individual donations at $1,200 per year.
The NDP reported $565,217.21 from 1,121 donations of more than $250, and another $692,750 from more than 8,000 donors who gave $250 or less.
The B.C. Liberals reported $384,280.60 from 605 donations more than $250, and another $363,416.19 from 4,429 donors who gave $250 or less.
The Greens received 247 donations of more than $250 in the first half of the year, totalling $136,060.52. Another 1,903 donations of $250 or less were reported, totalling $134,967.46.
